War Is Kind
by SnakeScipio
Summary: Keitaro is sent off to fight in a chaotic world. Will he get out alive? And what'll happen to Hinata House while he's gone? first fanfic, please review!


Hey everyone! This is SnakeScipio. Well, this little story here is my first ever fanfic I've ever written in my life. Yes, yes, Snake's an n00b. So if my story sux ass, blame it on my inexperience. Please review though, cause if I continue writing, then I'll need all the (helpful) criticism I can get. No, that doesn't mean you can send me hate mails for choosing Naru over the other girls of Hinata Inn.

Disclaimers: I do not own Love Hina, and no matter how many poor chickens get sacrificed to my satanic shrine in my closet, I never will (and just as well for the sake of the Hinata girls). Too late for my soul though…

" " is actual speech

(" ") is thought

is sound effects

"War Is Kind"

Prologue-

"_Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind._

_Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky_

_And the affrighted steed ran on alone, _

_Do not weep._

_War is kind._

_Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, _

_Little souls who thirst for fight,_

_These men were born to drill and die._

_The unexplained glory flies above them,_

_Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom –_

_A field where a thousand corpses lie._

_Do not weep, babe, for war is kind._

_Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,_

_Raged at his breast, gulped and died,_

_Do not weep._

_War is kind._

_Swift blazing flag of the regiment,_

_Eagle with crest of red and gold,_

_These men were born to drill and die._

_Point for them the virtue of slaughter,_

_Make plain to them the excellence of killing_

_And a field where a thousand corpses lie._

_Mother whose heart hung humble as a button_

_On the bright splendid shroud of your son,_

_Do not weep._

_War is kind."_

_Stephan Crane_

The cold and frigid vacuum of space, an absolute lack of matter and energy. But no space, big or small, stays the same for long. And this small region of outer space, somewhere between the sun and the Earth, is of no difference. Photon particles, massless matter carrying the fundamentals of life, soars across this vacuum, bringing with it the sun's warmth.

Millennia later, what photons that weren't interrupted in its journey by whatever that lie between the sun and the Earth, be it space debris or the golden planet Venus, arrived at our watery planet, relinquishing its heat and warmth. Wherever they reach, there is natural light, and with this natural light, we have dawn. Dawn arrives for only a half the world at a time, and right now, dawn arrives for two insignificant pieces of dirt (relative to the Earth's mass of course).

The first is a peninsula, jutting out from the much larger landmass called Asia, looking like a certain male genitalia compared to its bigger cousin to the north. We like to call that landmass Korea. There dawn gives light to a grisly scene. The rotting bodies of dead soldiers lie scattered throughout that unfortunate country, as the ravages of war leaves only destruction throughout. Human politics and philosophies took the lives of innocent civilians and guilty soldiers. All consumed by the indiscriminate fire of war, a fire drenched not by the rain of bullets. Men's higher civilization had created uncivilized war. But such things are far from the minds of others, others being the residents of a certain girl's dormitory.

Hinata Inn lies in that other landmass, Japan. There, the population is very much worried by the war in Korea, since Korea isn't all that far away from the home islands. For the residents of Hinata Inn though, war is far from troubling right now. Instead they are celebrating the recent acceptance to the prestigious Tokyo University of two of their fellow residents (one of whom is the manager himself) and a very good friend from sunny Okinawa. Keitaro Urashima, Naru Narusegawa, and Mutsumi Otohime, the three ex-ronins-turned-Todai-students, studied their hearts out for a large part of their lives, each trying to get in to the prestigious university for various reasons.

For Naru, it wasn't very clear, for at first she wanted to get in so she can be with her teenage crush, Seta. But as the years past, Tokyo U. really became a goal she had to reach, and only recently did she make a true promise. For Mutsumi, she strived to get in because of a promise she made as a child, with a certain someone she really liked, with someone she no longer remembered. Although she has long forgotten the person's name, or even how he, or even she, looked liked, she still longed to get in. She wanted to get in, in the hope that one day, she might meet that person at Tokyo U, and that one day she can finally say "yes, I did make it in." As for poor Keitaro, the manager of the all-girl dormitory (and subsequently the subject of constant physical abuse), he also made a promise. Fifteen years ago, at Hinata Inn, he was told that if two people that loved each other went to Tokyo University, they would live happily ever after. So he made a promise, a promise to a girl whose name he remembers not, but a promise he strived to keep. A year ago though, he made another promise, a promise with Naru Narusegawa, the new love of his life. And now they all made it into the most prestigious university in all of Japan.

Years of hard work finally rubbed off (especially for Keitaro). So they partied, and partied hard. The residents of Hinata Inn are infamous for throwing parties, and to celebrate they partied for weeks. Happiness and joy, as well as good (scratch that, absolutely delicious) food and a little too much liquor, abounded through the halls, and why not? However, somewhere in the middle of all this euphorism, a letter arrived, and as the typical stereotype of letters arriving in the middle of partying deems, it brought ill fortune and bad news. It was for Keitaro, and Keitaro received it first (since in all this partying, he became the only one who remembered to get the mail). Keitaro read it first, and without the others, especially Naru, knowing about the letter's existence. Keitaro's face was drained of color as he read the grim news. He thought about it for days, contemplating how to share the news, and contemplating his future. He thought, and he decided.

Chapter 1 –

The day began normally for the residents of this girl's dormitory. For one of the girls, it would be the ear-splitting screech of the alarm clock, followed quickly by the heavy pounding in the head, commonly caused by too much alcohol. For another, it was an instinct, almost animalistic, to wake up and prepare the day's breakfast for the other residents. Others could be dreaming about food (be it bananas or watermelons or Tama-Chan), which led to become conscience, which led them to smell the wonderful breakfast being cooked, which led to hunger. Whatever the reason, the residents woke up to the day. The day would go on "normally", each of them doing whatever they do each day. Well, except for Naru Narusegawa. She had gotten a note from Keitaro the previous day, something about meeting him out front. So after she washed and went through the customary mourning routines, she went out front to meet a nervous Keitaro.

"Hey!" said Naru.

"Oh hey!" replied Keitaro, "you ready to go?"

"Go where?" asked Naru.

"You'll see," said Keitaro, grinning a bit.

Naru merely shrugged as the two of them walked down the stairs. They walked to the train station, bought tickets (Keitaro paying for the two of them), and took a train going to Tokyo. All the while Naru wondered where Keitaro is taking her. They got off a while later ("hey, it's the Tokyo U station!"), and the two started walking to their destination. The two didn't talk, Naru still wondering ("is he taking me to Tokyo U?") and Keitaro grimly thinking over what he'll say ("how should I tell her… how'll she react?"). Naru would figure out where they'll go, for they had taken this path many times ("heh, he is taking me to Tokyo U. Why though…"). Naru looked about, seeing several storms clouds in the horizon. She wondered if it would rain.

"Well here we are."

Naru, taken out of her thoughts, looked about. Yep, it was Tokyo University. By now she knew the place by heart, having come here so many times. They had worked so hard to get here, and now they are.

They stood at the gateway, not crossing the threshold.

"I guessed that you'll take me here," said Naru. "So what's up? You also said that you wanted to tell me something."

"Yeah," replied Keitaro. He started sweating a bit, his mind a nervous wreck as it tries to solidify itself enough to get the words into his mouth. He looked down at the floor and scratched his head a bit, and started saying something. He stopped immediately though, tried again, and failed. Naru looked on, puzzled, wondering just what Keitaro is trying to say. Finally, Keitaro stood up straight and looked at her.

"Uh… well… have you been watching the news lately?" asked Keitaro.

" ("What the.. why's he asking that?) um, yeah?" replied Naru.

"You know how we've just declared war right?"

"Yeah."

It was true. A sudden resurge of communism around world has sent the whole world in a panic. Russia, only just freed of communistic values, fell right back in as the economic failure caused by the collapse of the first USSR in turn collapse the new government. Radicals took over and soon the communist block was back. The rest of the free world was in convulsion, as economies around the world struggle or failed. The United States, Britain, and members of NATO turned their back on the rest of the world, for their own troubles demanded their own attention. North Korea took advantage of the world crisis and invaded South Korea. This time, with the US too busy trying to keep the dollar alive, the north succeeded and kicked the weak South Korean government. A fifth column had already swayed much of the South Koreans to communist values, and soon a unified communist Korea was threatening Japan. Japan reacted badly, the government declaring martial law throughout the entire country as it tried to purge the islands of any communist. It didn't take long before missiles started flying back and forth.

So how does all this affect this story? Why the hell did I just waste 5 minutes of your life on a fictional scenario? Well…

Keitaro knew he had to tell her. He took her to Tokyo U to give her the news (among other things…), and now that they were there, it was now or never.

"Naru, I got drafted."

And it came. The surprise, the outrage, the sadness and the tears. Oh, the tears and the hysterical crying, the sobbing. Keitaro held her, gave her something to hold on to, his own eyes tearing a bit.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this… you got… oh my… " said Naru, the words coming between sobs. "When? When did you…"

"3 days ago. The letter came while we were partying. I… I've been trying to find a way to tell you.'

She cried a bit more, but steadily she regained her senses. She still couldn't believe it. It never came to her mind, never came to any of their minds, that he would leave them. Amidst all those news about Korea, amidst all those calls from friends about friends leaving, amidst the protests and the government propaganda, it never occurred to them that Keitaro, a middle aged male eligible to "defend the country and free Korea", will leave them.

So there she stood, in Keitaro's comforting grasp, weeping, thinking about what'll happen now. They were supposed to go to Tokyo U together when spring comes. They could've taken some classes, maybe join tennis. They might've even become couples.

"What'll happen now Keitaro? What'll we do now?" asked Naru, tears streaming from her eyes as she looked up at Keitaro.

"What'll we do now?" Keitaro looked away for a bit. He looked out at the school, at the people passing by, at the rain that has just begun to fall. He then turned to Naru, seeing those inquiring eyes. He thought about what he'll say, gathering the words. He had thought about this for a long time, thought about those words since the days they studied together. Those were heavy words, deep in meaning and rich in emotions.

"A little girl once told me that if two people that love each go to Tokyo U, they'll live happily ever after. I made a promise with that girl, and it was that promise that got me to Hinata house. I made another promise, a promise with you three years ago. I think that last three years, our promise counted more, that it was my promise to you that finally got me here. Well, I'm going to make another promise with you. Naru, I promise that I'll be back. This war, it's just an intermission. We'll still attend Tokyo U together, even if you'll be ahead of me. Whatever comes out of it, well we'll leave that till later. But this I promise you now, that I'll be back."

"But.. but this isn't same!" said Naru. "This isn't like taking the entrance exam. Damn it Keitaro, what if you get hurt! What if you die! What if… what if…"

'Don't worry Naru, I won't get hurt. Well I won't die. I'm immortal remember?" said Keitaro with a smile. "And if that's not enough to convince you, here's something else…"

Keitaro then coughed and grunted to clear his throat ("this is it"), looked into Naru's eyes ("this is it"), and said…

"Naru, I love you."

She gasped and put her hands over her mouth. She looked down, shocked. She looked up at Keitaro, then looked away. She didn't know what to do. She blushed a crimson red.

"Keitaro… "

He kissed her. Keitaro leaned in and gave her a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. They're lips slowly touched, a simple contact speaking thousands of words that they wanted to say. Keitaro wanted only a light kiss, a light kiss with the woman he loves before he left. Naru gave him more than just a kiss though. Although surprised (again), she readily accepted the kiss, leaning towards Keitaro, holding him harder. Oh how they wished to stay in each other's grasp, that they would never separate. After a while, Keitaro broke the kiss and said:

"I promise I'll come back ok. I love you too much to not come back. I can't die, not there, not yet. And when I come back, we'll attend Tokyo U together, and whatever comes out of it, we'll leave for later. Ok?"

"Ok," replied Naru. "You have to keep this promise though, or I'll get mad at you." Naru smiled and continued, "I'll get so mad, I'll chase you in the afterlife and pummel you. So don't die and come back to me ok?"

Keitaro smiled and the two kissed again, for the moment forgetting everything else but each other.


End file.
